Rubber heel-cushion.



C. E. CASHMAN.

RUBBER HEEL CUSHION.

APPLICATION man AU'G.H.1915.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

1 I amounted qviha enoe ICHABLESE. CASHMAN, OF FI'IGHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS.

' RUBBER HEEL-CUSHIGN.

messes.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2%, 9115}.

Application filed August 11, 1915. Serial No. 44,869.

A To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHAnLns E. CASi'IMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fitchburg, in the county of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have 1nvented a new and useful Rubber Heel-Cushion, of which the following is a specificatien.

The object of my invention is to prov de a rubber heel cushion adapted to be readily inserted in the heel section of a shoe and to retain'its position in the heel by reason of its novel construction.

In cushions of this class heretofore devised great inconvenience has resulted by reason of the cushions becoming displaced from the heel section of the shoe,'thus causing great discomfort to the wearer and re tarding the sale of such heel cushions. This difficulty has been experienced even when tacks have been used to fasten such cushions in place, as it has been found that the tacks are worked loose by the tendency of such cushions to Work forward in the shoe.

It is the especial object of my invention to provide a resilient heel cushion adapted to overcome this difficulty, and to provide a form of cushion adapted to retain itself in the heel section of the shoe, overcoming the discomfort of the cushion creeping down under the arch of the foot, and eliminating the use of tacks to fasten the cushion in place in the shoe. 7

It is a further object of my inventionto provide an improved form o fa, pneumat c heel cushion without increasingor complicating the manufacturing details .pr.expense of material in producing tlieacush on for sale.

I attain the objects of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 isa -plan view of the bottom of the cushion; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on line 22 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Like numerals refer to out the several views.-

Referringto the accompanying drawings,

2 I provide a suitable upper heel strip or platform member 1 of leather. To member 1 a suitable intermediate rubber strip 2 is cemented. To member 2 is cemented a bottom rubber cushion member 3, having a plurality of novel, forwardly-projecting ribs 4, havmg the apart one from the other and adapted'to like parts throughbottom edges of the ribs spaced engage with the.heel sectionof the shoe to prevent the forward cree ing which has been an ob ection to heel cus ions heretofore devised My cushion ribs 4 have their bottom slanting surfaces 5 disposed in a gradual downwardly inclined plane, and their upper or forward slanting surfaces 6 disposed in an abrupt downwardly inclined plane, thus leaving a suitable space between consecutive ribs, whereby to increase the cushioning effect of the device and also to cause an antncreeping action of my heel cushion. The ribs are larger at the center and gradually decrease in size toward the forward and rear ends of the heel cushion, as illustrated in Flg. 2. I provide suitable air chambers 7 between ribs 4 and intermediate strip 2, as.

illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, to give a cushioning efiect to the structure.

In operation, the bottom edges of the forwardly projecting ribs 4. make first contact with the bottom of the shoe and retain that point of contact as the pressure of the foot descends, causing a distinct backward creeping of the cushion against the back of the heel chamber of the shoe. This causes the cushion to retain itself in the heel chamber of the shoe, without the use of tacks or cement, both of which means of fastening heel cushions in place have been found defective and unreliable, or onlv of temporary usefulness. The anti-creeping action of ribs 4: of my heel cushion makes the use of tacks unnecessary. When the heel is raised, the

cushion tends to rebound rearward instead .forward creeping action.

3. A heel cushion comprising a plurality of upper heel platforms and a bottom cushi'on member having forwardly projecting ribs spaced one from the other and having air chambers within the rib members, whereby to increase the cushioning efiect and to" prevent creeping forward of the device in the shoe.

4. A heel cushion comprising an upper leatherheel platform, an intermediate rubber heel platform cemented thereto, and a bottom rubber cushion member cemented to the intermediate strip and having a series of forwardly-projecting ribs, with air chambers within the ribs, the forward surfaces of the ribs being disposed at an abrupt downward inclination and the bottom surfaces of the ribs being disposed at a gradual downward inclination to space the edges of the ribs apart, whereby to increase the cushioning effect of the structure and to exert an meters bers disposed Within the ribs and adjacent to the superposed heel platform to which the cushion member is secured, said ribs being of graduated size decreasing in size toward the orward and toward the rear portions of the heel platforms, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpases set forth.

CHARLES E GASHMANO 

